Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos!
Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.

2003 January 5

Atlantis to Orbit Credit:
NASA

Explanation:
Birds
don't fly this high.
Airplanes don't go this fast.
The Statue of Liberty
weighs less.
No species
other than human can even comprehend what is going on,
nor could any human just a millennium ago.
The launch of a
rocket bound for space is an event that
inspires awe
and challenges description.
Pictured above, the
Space Shuttle Atlantis lifted off to visit the
International Space Station
during the early morning hours of July 12.
From a standing start, the two million kilogram
rocket ship left to circle the
Earth where the
outside air is too thin to breathe and where there is
little
noticeable onboard gravity.
Rockets bound for space are now
launched from somewhere on Earth
about once a week.